Addressing rumors that he’s signed Troy Ave to his Grand Hustle Records label, T.I. told RapUpTV that while the details are pending, Troy Ave is “definitely Hustle Gang.”
“Nevermind the paperwork,” he said, not referencing his latest album, “I can’t really speak for the deals…the solidification of a professional relationship has not been there, but personally, he’s definitely Hustle Gang. That’s something that I’m comfortable saying.”
Asked about what he sees in Troy Ave, T.I. explained wanting to see young artists strike an important balance that he finds in the New York rapper.
“He a solid cat,” T.I. said. “As a youngster usually the younger you are the more impressionable you are. Or the younger you are the more hardheaded you are. But, you know, there’s a sweet spot right in the middle there where you’re not impressionable but you’re not so hardheaded that you won’t listen to advice to improve. I think right there, in his own way he has something that New York has been missing for quite some time. He’s not afraid to be a New Yorker. I salute him for that early on.”
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During the interview, T.I. also detailed the making of his Paperworktrack “Private Show” featuring Chris Brown and what their intentions were with the song.
“‘Private Show’ came together when the producer he brought it to me and immediately we heard Chris on there man. Me and Chris were really able to exaggerate our bravado in the bedroom. I guess, he may have exaggerated, I didn’t really exaggerate much. But, we were able to exaggerate or be as true to life as we felt like it. You know, we just really wanted to—and I don’t want to be inappropriate when I say this, everybody under 18 cover your ears—we wanted to make grown women cream themselves. That was the pure, definite intention behind the record. I think that we were both trying to one-up one another.”
